Background Context with Participles
To establish the background for an action, start a clause with a past participle. This translates roughly to "Once [something] was done" or "With [something] done."
| Once the chicken was seasoned with garlic, my husband cooked dinner. | Sazonado el pollo con ajo, mi esposo cocinó la cena. |
In these clauses, the participle always comes before the noun and acts like an adjective, matching it in gender and number.
| With the side dish prepared, she took the meat out of the oven. | Preparada la guarnición, ella sacó la carne del horno. |
| Once the mushrooms were drained, I added them to the salad. | Escurridos los champiñones, los añadí a la ensalada. |
This structure is perfect for describing step-by-step processes, like cooking, where one action finishes before the next begins.
| With the fish marinated in garlic, we put it in the pan. | Marinado el pescado con ajo, lo pusimos en la sartén. |
To describe multiple completed steps, you can chain these clauses together.
| With the cheese grated and the parsley chopped, the chef finished preparing the soup. | Rallado el queso y cortado el perejil, el chef terminó de preparar la sopa. |
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